Exploring New York's Bottle Bill

New York | Returnable Container Act (RCA)

The state of New York enacted its Returnable Container Act (RCA) in June 1982, making it the third state in the country to introduce a bottle bill. The RCA has undergone a number of amendments, including those passed in 1983, 1984, 1988, 1997, and 2009.

The program is viewed as successful, with the New York Department of Environmental Conversation (DEC) stating that redemption rates have averaged 65% and beverage container litter has decreased by 70%.

What's Included?

The DEC breaks down covered beverages and containers, as well as exemptions, including:  

Beverages Covered: Carbonated soft drinks and sparkling water, carbonated energy drinks, carbonated juice (less than 100% juice), carbonated tea, soda water, beer and malt beverages, mineral water, wine products, and water.

Containers Covered: Individual sealed glass, metal, aluminum, steel or plastic bottles, cans or jars that are less than 1 gallon (3.78 liters) and intended for use or consumption in the state.

Exemptions: Milk products, wine, liquor, spirits, hard cider, noncarbonated tea, noncarbonated sports drinks, noncarbonated juice, non-carbonated energy drinks, beverages in drink boxes or pouches, and water containing sugar.

What’s the Refund Value?

New York uses a flat refund value for all covered containers: 5 cents.

A proposal—Bigger Better Bottle Bill—aims to raise the refund value to 10 cents, expand covered products, and increase handling fees. Championed by groups like Brooklyn's Sure We Can, versions of the proposal have been introduced across multiple legislative sessions but have yet to become law, facing opposition from beverage industry groups over cost concerns (Bronx Times).

Impact of DRS in New York

When compared with other states with DRSs, New York’s PET, aluminum, and glass recycling rates are average, but still outperform the national averages:

PET recycling rate (2018): 42% (22.96 percentage points above the national average of 19.04%)

Aluminum recycling rate (2018): 61% (29.72 percentage points above the national average of 31.28%)

Glass recycling rate (2018): 61% (35.14 percentage points above the national average of 25.86%)

[Data from 50 States of Recycling 2.0 by Ball Corporation & Eunomia.]

TOMRA reports that New York's RCA redemption rate for 2023 was 68%—the fifth highest among the 10 US states with bottle bills based on 2023–2024 data.

2026 Update

A report released in early August 2026 by the Container Recycling Institute (CRI) provides insight into redemption rate fluctuations by state, including New York’s bottle bill redemption rate for 2025.

In 2025, the redemption rate for New York's RCA was 68%—down 1 percentage point from 2024. This mirrors California’s 2024–2025 performance, which also experienced a 1-percentage-point dip.

The chart below shows fluctuations in New York’s redemption rate from 2023 to 2025:

Similar to our analysis of other bottle bill states, a broader look at New York’s redemption rates from 2013 to 2025 tells a different story:

Despite a minor drop in redemption from 2024 to 2025, New York’s 2025 redemption rate was still 6 percentage points higher than in 2013. It is also interesting to note that New York’s bottle bill did not experience the major drop in redemption rates during the COVID-19 pandemic seen in some other bottle bill states. For example, California experienced a 9-percentage-point-drop from 2019 to 2020, while New York remained flat at 64%.

Read more about New York’s bottle bill here. 

Read about the bottle bills in the nine other US states here.